THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is working to expand the visa-free status of mainland Chinese tourists to allow them to arrive directly in select airports outside of Manila and Cebu.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Acting Tourism Secretary Ma. Bernadita Angara-Mathay said the liberalized entry policy was able to ‘substantially impact’ on this year’s arrivals from mainland China. As per data from e-travel forms, arrivals from China jumped 69.15 percent, year on year (yoy), to 310,088 from January to August.
‘So we’re working on the visa-free arrangement with China to cover not only Cebu and Manila, but other areas such as Clark, Caticlan, Bohol, and Palawan,’ so tourists from China on chartered flights can easily enter there, she added.
Angara-Mathay intimated though that not all government agencies were in consensus with the expansion of the visa-free privilege, owing to ‘security’ concerns. While she didn’t identify where the concerns are coming from, published reports showed that the Department of National Defense currently has a word war with Beijing.
‘If there are reservations on opening up, we are prepared to suggest some safety measures. If you look at the statistics, because of the visa-free [policy], there was a 69 percent climb in [Chinese] arrivals. Can you imagine if we expand that to cover more areas?’ said the DOT chief.
Prior to the pandemic and before diplomatic tensions flared up anew between the Philippines and China, visitors from China reached 1.74 million, which made it the second top source market for tourists in the Philippines, after South Korea.
Some 4.11 million foreign tourists were welcomed in the Philippines in the first eight months of the year, 3.7 percent more than the 3.97 million who arrived in the same period in 2025.
DOT, Klook renew partnership
As this developed, the DOT signed a memorandum of understanding with Klook, an online travel platform, to help market the Philippines abroad and among local travelers.
According Klook Philippines General Manager Michelle Ho, the company will also help DOT regional offices and local government units to develop their tourism products especially from micro-, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and promote these on the travel platform. Initially, Klook will focus on the Cordillera Administrative Region, Panay, Negros, and Bukidnon.
The strategic partnership between DOT and Klook will leverage the latter’s global marketing reach and extensive network of local operators to drive tourism demand through campaigns such as ‘Discover More to Love,’ while developing curated experiences and helping local tourism businesses embrace digitalization.
‘As we continue to expand our partnership with Klook, we are placing greater emphasis on the participation of our tourism stakeholders,’ said Angara-Mathay. ‘We want to ensure that our experience providers, particularly MSMEs in the provinces, are equipped to participate meaningfully in the digital tourism ecosystem. By giving them access to platforms such as Klook, where their offerings can be made more visible and bookable, we can connect them more directly with travelers while making the booking process more seamless, convenient, and secure,’ she added.
For her part, Ho said, ‘We’re not just signing a new partnership, we’re renewing one that has already proved that it’s possible. And this time we’re going further: a multi-year commitment to grow Philippine tourism starting from home, to domestically, to inbound, catering to all foreigners around the globe.’
Top 10 source markets
Meanwhile, of the total inbound tourists from January to August this year, 3.7 million (91.35 percent) were accounted for by foreign nationals, while the rest, at 355,758, were overseas Filipinos defined as Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad.
The United States topped the list of source markets for the period, from which arrivals reached 818,318, up 5.95 percent, yoy. This was followed by South Korea at 727,379 (-17.42 percent); Japan at 350,191 (+0.76 percent); China; and Australia at 234,156 (+9.1 percent).
Other top source markets for the reference period were: Canada at 231,972 (+13.23 percent); Taiwan 154,957 (+9.63 percent); the United Kingdom 132,370 (+0.53 percent); Singapore 126,812 (-2.04 percent); and India 77,883 (+32.2 percent).
Visa-free status was also extended to tourists from India, aiding the recent uptick in their arrivals in the Philippines. Prior to the pandemic, visitors from India reached 134,963.